2+2=5 Team*WORKS

It has been reported a number of times by me, that children do not have the right resources or influences to learn about teamwork at a young age. Teamwork is meant to be learned through activities like little league, Rec basketball, or scouting. When represented in the purist, intended form, these activities, no doubt, have the power to teach these invaluable life skills that will be used for the rest of their lives. But, if you have ever been to one of these Saturday afternoon tee-ball games, you may have seen exactly what I’m talking about, the screams from parents in the bleachers, the taunts from coaches.

There’s a million causes that could be triggering this problem: parents living through their children, looking for bragging rights over other parents, or already thinking a about 12 year old Johnny making the high school varsity team. To be honest, the cause of this problem is less a concern to me than the mere act of identifying and admitting this problem that is resulting in a deficiency of critical life skills in children. Once we come to the conclusion that there is a desperate need for youth teamwork, we can begin to focus on the solution. I found a very good article that further delves into this idea, I  hope you enjoy. Please share your thoughts with our audience. http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20100524/OPINION03/5220303/Harvey-L-Long-Let-children-learn-teamwork-sportsmanship

On May 3, 2010, Governor Deval Patrick, signed into law, the new Massachusetts anti-bullying law, joining 42 other states with similar legislation. This new law was signed into place amidst significant public pressure, following perhaps one of the worst bullying incidents in our lifetime, occurring in South Hadley, MA, tragically ending in the victim, Phobe Prince, taking of her own life, drowning from the pressures of bullying.

The new legislation puts the focus back on schools and charges teachers and administrators for not only being responsible for identifying and reporting bullying, but also for developing proactive solutions in order to prevent bullying from occurring in the first place. The “bullying bill” more formerly known as  ”Chapter 92 of the Acts of 2010″ reads, ” of I think that school administrators, “5(d)  Each school district, charter school, non-public school, approved private day or residential school and collaborative school shall develop, adhere to and update a plan to address bullying prevention and intervention in consultation with teachers, school staff, professional support personnel, school volunteers, administrators, community representatives, local law enforcement agencies, students, parents and guardians.”

When we think about any environment, school or business, we have both detective controls and preventive controls. It is evident to me that many school administrators have focused on detective controls: ie setting up a safe environment for children to report bullying without fear of repercussion, or training teachers to spot bullying problems and defuse them before they get out of hand. The sad problem is that bullying that starts in schools is no longer only happening “in” schools. Children are bullied through new technologies: texting, facebook, myspace, instant messenger, all of which continues at home. There is no escape. And the well trained teachers and administrators can’t be expected to identify bullying if its occurring outside of school. The point is- even more important than detective controls- controls that identify bullying, are preventive controls- put in place to help create an anti-bullying culture that mitigates the risk of bullying.

2+2=5 Team*Works helps to create a culture focused on the importance of working together through teamwork, through a 10 week curriculum using team activities to develop an environment where children appreciate each others’ differences as they contribute in a team atmosphere. I’ve seen it work many times personally, and so have the teachers and principals in over 8 elementary schools in Massachusetts already. Our program 2+2=5 is a critical component for any school that wants to focus its efforts on preventing bullying rather than detecting bullying.

How many times have you seen this? Mostly, people that cross their fingers behind their back are lying and saying I am saying one thing but I plan on doing something else.

Trust is such a vital component within the team dynamic. It takes years to build trust and ensure that a team can work together through trusting relationships. However, what can sometimes take years to build, can be broken in less than 5 seconds. Most people don’t 1. Know how to trust others and 2. How to be trustworthy.

So what does it take to trust others and be trusted? It is as simple as doing as you are saying you will. Often times on the playground, children promise not to tell someone something or to keep such a big secret. In the work place it can be as simple as working well with people and delivering on a team project the way that it was intended for you to. How about in a business deal; someone does not keep up their end of the contract or agreement?

There are so many examples of how people have lost trust in a simple disagreement. So, what does it take to build trust? Are you developing trusting relationships in what you say, do and express to others? What would people say about you as to whether or not you are a trustworthy person? Is that one attribute that people would use to describe you?

If not, think about how you treat others, what you say and do to others and especially, how others perceive you in how you conduct business.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelkuhnphotos/4526706053/

Most of our readers by now have already heard the tragic story of a young Phoebe Price, who earlier this year, tragically ended her own life after months of sustained bullying and harrassment that she had been enduring from dozens of her high school freshman peers, since transferring to her new high school in South Hadley, MA. More can be read about this sad story at  http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-04-04-bullying_N.htm.

It’s no question, we have all heard similar stories, fortunately not all end so sadly. But make no mistake about it, bullying takes place in every high school and every elementary school today. Parents are left wondering, what can they do to help protect their children from falling to the same pressure that poor Phoebe Prince was facing. Unfortunately, many parents find out way too late, and are left wondering what they could have done, feeling helpless.

When a bully or group of bullies are picking on another child, its very tough to reverse that course with parental or teacher interruption. This may even cause the bully to apply more pressure. Let me begin by saying, this bullying and harrassing is something that every teacher or parent has the responsibility to intervene, without hesitation. It may save a life. But more importantly, teachers and administrators need to work to build a culture that deters bullying. How do they do that?

The results that 2+2=5 have demonstrated in the last 8 years, has proven to contibute to an environment that embraces working together, teamwork, and leadership. The skills that are taught from week to week have proven to transfer to the playground, the classroom, and at home. 2+2=5 reinforces positive behaviors and fosters an entirely positive environment focused on teamwork. The best way to put an end to bullying is to create a culture that doesn’t allow it to start in the first place.

photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/litandmore/2312869091/

January 25, 2002, Cambridge, MA: Hockey Dad Gets 6 to 10 Years for Fatal Beating. Massachusetts judge sentenced Thomas Junta to six to 10 years in state prison for the beating death of Michael Costin, 40, in a fight after a youth hockey practice in which the sons of both men participated for what they considered to be “rough play.”

http://archives.cnn.com/2002/LAW/01/25/hockey.death.verdict/index.html

July 24, 2007, Toronto, Canada: Irate Soccer Mom Brings Game to Screeching Halt. A referee is accosted, a supporter punched, a police officer – who tries to intervene – scratched. Arrests are made and an embarrassed team is withdrawn from the tournament… took place at an “under-8″ match for boys in Pickering on the weekend. The referee? A 14-year-old girl. Now, an irate soccer mom who disagreed with the girl’s officiating faces assault charges.

http://www.thestar.com/gta/article/239062

You many have seen one of these headlines before because they appear every day in our local news. Clearly the message in youth sports which used to emphasize teamwork- has dramatically shifted to individual focus. If children aren’t learning teamwork on the ballfield, where are they learning to develop such a critical interpersonal skillset such as leadership, communication, problem solving, and teamwork? 

If children don’t have the opportunity to learn these skills in the traditional environments in the way that we would think, then where are they learned? Do you think that these skills are taught in elementary education? The No Child Left Behind Act dramatically shifted the focus within the classroom. Any schoolteacher would admit that the landscape of the elementary classroom has shifted dramatically, requiring teachers to specifically hit key learning points in each school year that will be covered on a standardized state exam. This emphasis of “teaching to the test” leaves little time for classroom development of interpersonal or team skills as teachers struggle to cover required material. This ultimately results in the closing of an enormous opportunity for our children to develop these skills in the classroom at a young age. Teachers simply do not have enough of the finite resource of time to properly emphasize the development of these critical life skills.

The Solution and Value Proposition

In response to the observed deficiency in childhood education and interpersonal skill development, 2+2=5 Team*Works was developed originally as a not-for-profit at Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts in 2002. The goal was to better understand how elementary students would react to an opportunity to build and develop these interpersonal skills as well as discuss the relevance to teams and team success. The program is called ‘2+2=5, The Power of Teamwork’ inferring that people can accomplish more by working together than by concentrating on individual accomplishment.

POINT: On a teamwork blog http://blogs.bnet.com/teamwork/?p=103 one reader commented “I agree that over-emphasis on teamwork can be counter-productive especially when it comes to big projects that are assigned to “team.” Since no one person feels directly responsible for seeing such a project through, people often assume some one else will do it and it never gets done. Sometimes collective responsibility means no responsibility at all.”

2+2=5 COUNTERPOINT: It has been said that having too many chefs in the kitchen can ruin the stew. Undoubtedly, there are often many negative team experiences all of the time. We can all think of dozens of times where we were a part of a team and had a horrible experience. I would argue that for every negative team experience, there is an element of mismanagement

The best team leaders know the strengths of their team inside and out. They know when to give a task to a couple of  team members to work on or to an individual on the team. They literally have their finger on the pulse of the team at all times and know what is working and what isn’t working.

The writer suggests “sometimes collective responsibility means no responsibility at all.” I know that when I’m on a team with four or five other individuals that are counting on me to do my “task” that makes me even more engaged in my role on the team. That is a feeling that is instilled by the leader. If a team’s culture gives a sense of counting on others to do everything, that’s gut-check time for the team leader, it falls on them.

What do some of our readers think?

photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/diversey/4134107057/

We all know what kind of role social networking has played in changing the landscape in which we work and play. Facebook, MySpace, twitter, and wordpress, among others, have all reshaped the way we use the internet, the way we give and get information, and the way we interact with others.

These social networking tools have become popular; in fact, according to cnn.com, twitter just had its 10 billionth tweet.  I personally can’t beleive some of the information that people share with complete strangers online but its this kind of sharing of information that has advanced learning  exponentially in recent years. Which side of the fence are you on? Some people are very concerned with internet privacy, marking their accounts and posts private while others are perfectly willing to tell you about their recent doctor appointment or the status of their home loan application. As I was writing this very sentence and see what I could find on twitter to support my claim… take a look at what I found in under 3 seconds…

@doctorslounge I'm trying to get information on kidney disease's. I have protein (800mg) and micro. loin pain at times.

Now one could wonder why someone would write things like this for anyone to see. Much different landscape even just a year or two ago. But some random person out there might be dealing with the very same thing and have the perfect advice, or talked to a doctor that can help, or at the very least provide some sort of support group. This is teamwork in action…. Not at work where we might expect, not on the ballfield, where we might expect… right in front of us, in our own little online communities.

I have to think that these social networking tools are only going to continue to change the way we learn, the way in which we interact, and the way that teamwork impacts our lives everyday. The more people are willing to share, the more we can all consume, and learn; for example, the use of trending topics on twitter. As more and more people are talking about a topic, the more accessible the topic becomes.

So what was the 10 billionth tweet, we’ll never know. The user was marked “private.”

Reader Question: I work with a fantastic team, one like never before. We have such team synergy, but we recently got the news that our lead senior is leaving. How do we keep the team engaged with our “glue” being melted away before our job is done?

Our Response: There is no easy solution to dissolving a team right in the middle of a project. It is hard when leaders are the one’s leaving a team, and the team is left to fend for itself. Although the leader of a team is leaving, there are a number of things that we would recommend for a succession plan for a leader, especially one that has been the “glue”.

1. It is important for the lead senior and management to select a successor that is currently part of the team make-up. Often times, it is much harder in a short amount of time for the team to succeed when someone new has to learn what is going on. Often times, lower people are looked over, and someone who is “qualified” because of their ranking, is often a worse choice. Lower people in the ranks should be given a chance to show their leadership and take ownership.

2. It is critical for the lead senior to sit down and go through all the “behind the scenes” work with the successor. A lot of work that associates and below do not see is often never considered. Coaching is key in this area.

3. That the lead senior keep a positive image of the company and assist the rest of the team with the new team leader in “buy-in” for the change. Often times, you can have a perfect successor, but if the team is not invested in the change, it doesn’t matter how good a leader is, they will struggle with team morale.

4. The new leader must understand that the change is not only hard for them, but for the rest of the team. Empathy for learning to deal with new leadership styles and the loss of a “friend or the glue” is going to be hard. The new leader must learn to incorporate that into their leadership to ensure that the team has complete “buy-in” to the new make-up of the team.

5. As the senior transitions out, he/she must ensure that they still continue to coach and be involved in the team. The involvement should only be where the new leader cannot quite fulfill the role as the old leader is still present.

6. The old leader should almost only be a consultant in the last weeks. If the old leader is over-involved, the team is confused as to the team structure and make-up. If the new leader is not able to become fully vested as the leader, the team will have an even tougher time after the old leader leaves. The old leader must ensure that they are available, but not overly involved with most of the day to day leadership on the team. Consulting means to be involved to the extent that it is requested.

7. Lastly, it is of utmost importance that the leader that is leaving leaves on a positive note. They will be missed, but is critical that they let the team remember why they will be missed. Ensuring that the team understands that their decision to leave is a personal one, and has nothing to do with the firm is important in ensuring that the team does not become discouraged and the ultimate goal of team synergy is lost.

Although it is hard to lose a leader, it can sometimes be a great opportunity for others to step up to the plate. Go with the transition; the more you fight and are upset and think that things will not work out, the more they will not. It is important to take lead from the leaving senior and ensure that they know they are supported, and for you to know that you are supported by them.

Either way, no matter what happens, it is important for the sake of the team that all team members accept the change and assist in any way possible. This allows for the team to change, and possibly, change for the better. This allows for change leadership to take advantage of the situation.

When we think about teamwork, I bet the first thing you think of is a bunch of people sitting around a table trying to solve a problem. The easel is in the corner of the room with brainstorming scetched all over it. There’s crumpled up paper in the wastebasket and a pot of coffee going.

The face of teamwork has changed. Today, teamwork occurs virtually more than in any other environment and the virtual realm changes all the rules. It changes the way leaders lead. It changes the way we collaborate. It puts a new emphasis on communication. Think about the way teamwork impacts your everyday life as you spend time online. Think about how we collaborate with others through blogs, through twitter, facebook, and tumbler. For example, I use twitter as a tool to gain knowledge from other writers about teamwork and leadership. Even wikipedia, tens of thousands of contributors collaborate virtually to deliver information. Teamwork occurs in virtual space without users or contributors even thinking about teamwork.

Having said that, its obvious that these social media tools present an opportunity like never before. An entirely new format of teamwork and collaborative working/learning. It’s time to rewrite the rules on teamwork.

A Leader Knows the Pulse of the Team

There’s thousands of articles out there with advice on how to manage your team. Do this, don’t do that. This works, this won’t work. The key to success is… We guarantee if you…

Ever read these words? Thousands of “experts” have a thing or two to say about what makes a good leader, but none of them are really right, all of the time, for every situation.

Anyone can and should take this advice as guideposts for effective leadership, from time to time. But, what really works won’t work for every team all of the time.

The most effective leaders don’t take any advice as gospel. They know what leadership style works at some times, won’t work at others. Teams change, personalities change, day to day. And a leader must, must keep his or her fingers on the team’s pulse at all times. When to inspire and motivate, when to curb emotions, when to micromanage, when to macromanage, when to allow out of the box thinking, when to reign in misdirection. Leaders know their teams better than anyone, how the team members interact with each other and how the connect.

Different environments, different challenges, different circumstances in personal lives, all have a profound impact on how a team will work together on any given day. The task for the leader is daunting: know your team as well as you know yourself. Keep your finger on the pulse.

photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/christianacare/3856138077/